Rod Blagojevich urged SIU to let 2 into law school

Tribune staff report

Former Gov. Rod Blagojevich sent two letters of recommendation on behalf of applicants to Southern Illinois University's law school, the university said Friday after a search of its admissions records in response to a federal subpoena.

The university, based in Carbondale, said it discovered the 2005 letters but found that neither applicant was admitted to the law school.

A review of applications from 2002 to 2008 to its other schools found no other examples of Blagojevich trying to use political clout to influence the university's admissions process, the university announced.

SIU was one among three state universities -- including Northern Illinois University and the University of Illinois -- that were subpoenaed by federal prosecutors seeking evidence that Blagojevich and his power brokers gave applicants an unfair edge.

Prosecutors are preparing to try Blagojevich next year on sweeping corruption charges that accuse him of essentially running the state as a criminal racket by trading favors for campaign contributions.

The federal requests follow a recent Tribune series that found 800 applicants in the last five years received special university admission consideration at the U. of I. when they landed on a clout list after an elected official or university trustee sent an e-mail or made a call on their behalf.